Method for decreasing the bit rate needed to transmit videos over a network by dropping video frames

ABSTRACT

An aspect of the disclosure is directed to transmitting a reduced stream of encoded video frames. An original stream of encoded video frames is analyzed, a plurality of frames are removed without re-encoding encoded video frames to generate the reduced stream of encoded video frames, and the reduced stream and metadata describing the plurality of removed frames are transmitted. An aspect of the disclosure is directed to creating a new version of an original stream of encoded video frames from a reduced stream of encoded video frames. The reduced stream of encoded video frames is received, the plurality of removed frames is identified based on metadata related to the reduced stream, a plurality of replacement frames are generated, and the plurality of replacement frames are added to the reduced stream of encoded video frames to recreate the new version of the original stream of encoded video frames.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application for patent is a continuation of application Ser.No. 13/836,269, entitled “METHOD FOR DECREASING THE BIT RATE NEEDED TOTRANSMIT VIDEOS OVER A NETWORK BY DROPPING VIDEO FRAMES,” filed Mar. 15,2013, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The disclosure is directed to decreasing the bit rate needed to transmitvideos over a network by dropping video frames.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wireless communication systems have developed through variousgenerations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service(1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (includinginterim 2.5G and 2.75G networks) and third-generation (3G) andfourth-generation (4G) high speed data/Internet-capable wirelessservices. There are presently many different types of wirelesscommunication systems in use, including Cellular and PersonalCommunications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systemsinclude the cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), anddigital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA), the Global System for Mobile access (GSM) variation of TDMA, andnewer hybrid digital communication systems using both TDMA and CDMAtechnologies.

More recently, Long Term Evolution (LTE) has been developed as awireless communications protocol for wireless communication ofhigh-speed data for mobile phones and other data terminals. LTE is basedon GSM, and includes contributions from various GSM-related protocolssuch as Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), and UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols such as High-SpeedPacket Access (HSPA).

Due to the ever increasing amount of data being transmitted over datanetworks, such as 3G and 4G networks, carriers are struggling to meetuser's data needs. This is exacerbated by the quantity of videostreaming done over the network to mobile devices.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of the disclosure are directed to transmitting a reducedstream of encoded video frames. Various other aspects of the disclosureare directed to creating a new version of an original stream of encodedvideo frames from a reduced stream of encoded video frames.

A method of transmitting a reduced stream of encoded video framesincludes analyzing a stream of encoded video frames, removing aplurality of frames from the stream of encoded video frames withoutre-encoding the encoded video frames to generate the reduced stream ofencoded video frames, and transmitting the reduced stream of encodedvideo frames and metadata describing the plurality of removed frames.

A method of creating a new version of an original stream of encodedvideo frames from a reduced stream of encoded video frames includesreceiving the reduced stream of encoded video frames, wherein thereduced stream of encoded video frames was created by removing aplurality of frames from the original stream of encoded video frames,identifying the plurality of removed frames based on metadata related tothe reduced stream of encoded video frames, generating a plurality ofreplacement frames based on the identified plurality of removed frames,and adding the plurality of replacement frames to the reduced stream ofencoded video frames to recreate the new version of the original streamof encoded video frames.

An apparatus for transmitting a reduced stream of encoded video framesincludes logic configured to analyze a stream of encoded video frames,logic configured to remove a plurality of frames from the stream ofencoded video frames without re-encoding the encoded video frames togenerate the reduced stream of encoded video frames, and logicconfigured to transmit the reduced stream of encoded video frames andmetadata describing the plurality of removed frames.

An apparatus for creating a new version of an original stream of encodedvideo frames from a reduced stream of encoded video frames includeslogic configured to receive the reduced stream of encoded video frames,wherein the reduced stream of encoded video frames was created byremoving a plurality of frames from the original stream of encoded videoframes, logic configured to identify the plurality of removed framesbased on metadata related to the reduced stream of encoded video frames,logic configured to generate a plurality of replacement frames based onthe identified plurality of removed frames, and logic configured to addthe plurality of replacement frames to the reduced stream of encodedvideo frames to recreate the new version of the original stream ofencoded video frames.

An apparatus for transmitting a reduced stream of encoded video framesincludes means for analyzing a stream of encoded video frames, means forremoving a plurality of frames from the stream of encoded video frameswithout re-encoding the encoded video frames to generate the reducedstream of encoded video frames, and means for transmitting the reducedstream of encoded video frames and metadata describing the plurality ofremoved frames.

An apparatus for creating a new version of an original stream of encodedvideo frames from a reduced stream of encoded video frames includesmeans for receiving the reduced stream of encoded video frames, whereinthe reduced stream of encoded video frames was created by removing aplurality of frames from the original stream of encoded video frames,means for identifying the plurality of removed frames based on metadatarelated to the reduced stream of encoded video frames, means forgenerating a plurality of replacement frames based on the identifiedplurality of removed frames, and means for adding the plurality ofreplacement frames to the reduced stream of encoded video frames torecreate the new version of the original stream of encoded video frames.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium for transmitting a reducedstream of encoded video frames includes at least one instruction toanalyze a stream of encoded video frames, at least one instruction toremove a plurality of frames from the stream of encoded video frameswithout re-encoding the encoded video frames to generate the reducedstream of encoded video frames, and at least one instruction to transmitthe reduced stream of encoded video frames and metadata describing theplurality of removed frames.

An non-transitory computer-readable medium for creating a new version ofan original stream of encoded video frames from a reduced stream ofencoded video frames includes at least one instruction to receive thereduced stream of encoded video frames, wherein the reduced stream ofencoded video frames was created by removing a plurality of frames fromthe original stream of encoded video frames, at least one instruction toidentify the plurality of removed frames based on metadata related tothe reduced stream of encoded video frames, at least one instruction togenerate a plurality of replacement frames based on the identifiedplurality of removed frames, and at least one instruction to add theplurality of replacement frames to the reduced stream of encoded videoframes to recreate the new version of the original stream of encodedvideo frames.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of aspects of the disclosure and many ofthe attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingswhich are presented solely for illustration and not limitation of thedisclosure, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wirelesscommunications system in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates examples of user equipments (UEs) in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a communication device that includes logic configuredto perform functionality in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary server according to various aspects ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary video file broken down into I frames andP frames.

FIG. 6 illustrates high-level system architecture of a wirelesscommunications system in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary signaling diagram for processing a videofile in the wireless communications system illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 illustrates a more detailed flow of the features performed at aclient device.

FIG. 9 illustrates a series of full groups of frames.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of skipping and morphing five P frames ata time.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of skipping and morphing 11 P frames at atime.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary MP4 file hierarchy.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary flow for processing a video file at aserver.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary flow for creating a new version of anoriginal stream of encoded video frames from a reduced stream of encodedvideo frames.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects are disclosed in the following description and relateddrawings. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from thescope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of thedisclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as notto obscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

The words “exemplary” and/or “example” are used herein to mean “servingas an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described hereinas “exemplary” and/or “example” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term“aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of thedisclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode ofoperation.

Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions tobe performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will berecognized that various actions described herein can be performed byspecific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits(ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or moreprocessors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, these sequence ofactions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirelywithin any form of computer readable storage medium having storedtherein a corresponding set of computer instructions that upon executionwould cause an associated processor to perform the functionalitydescribed herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may beembodied in a number of different forms, all of which have beencontemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Inaddition, for each of the aspects described herein, the correspondingform of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logicconfigured to” perform the described action.

A client device, referred to herein as a user equipment (UE), may bemobile or stationary, and may communicate with a radio access network(RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeablyas an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriberdevice,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “userterminal” or UT, a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station” and variationsthereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via the RAN,and through the core network the UEs can be connected with externalnetworks such as the Internet. Of course, other mechanisms of connectingto the core network and/or the Internet are also possible for the UEs,such as over wired access networks, WiFi networks (e.g., based on IEEE802.11, etc.) and so on. UEs can be embodied by any of a number of typesof devices including but not limited to PC cards, compact flash devices,external or internal modems, wireless or wireline phones, and so on. Acommunication link through which UEs can send signals to the RAN iscalled an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reversecontrol channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link throughwhich the RAN can send signals to UEs is called a downlink or forwardlink channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcastchannel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the termtraffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink/reverse ordownlink/forward traffic channel.

FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wirelesscommunications system 100 in accordance with an aspect of thedisclosure. The wireless communications system 100 contains UEs 1 . . .N. The UEs 1 . . . N can include cellular telephones, personal digitalassistant (PDAs), pagers, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, and soon. For example, in FIG. 1, UEs 1 . . . 2 are illustrated as cellularcalling phones, UEs 3 . . . 5 are illustrated as cellular touchscreenphones or smart phones, and UE N is illustrated as a desktop computer orPC.

Referring to FIG. 1, UEs 1 . . . N are configured to communicate with anaccess network (e.g., the RAN 120, an access point 125, etc.) over aphysical communications interface or layer, shown in FIG. 1 as airinterfaces 104, 106, 108 and/or a direct wired connection. The airinterfaces 104 and 106 can comply with a given cellular communicationsprotocol (e.g., Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Evolution-DataOptimized (EV-DO), Evolved High Rate Packet Data (eHRPD), Global Systemof Mobile Communication (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution(EDGE), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), etc.), whilethe air interface 108 can comply with a wireless IP protocol (e.g., IEEE802.11). The RAN 120 includes a plurality of access points that serveUEs over air interfaces, such as the air interfaces 104 and 106. Theaccess points in the RAN 120 can be referred to as access nodes or ANs,access points or APs, base stations or BSs, Node Bs, eNode Bs, and soon. These access points can be terrestrial access points (or groundstations), or satellite access points. The RAN 120 is configured toconnect to a core network 140 that can perform a variety of functions,including bridging circuit switched (CS) calls between UEs served by theRAN 120 and other UEs served by the RAN 120 or a different RANaltogether, and can also mediate an exchange of packet-switched (PS)data with external networks such as Internet 175. The Internet 175includes a number of routing agents and processing agents (not shown inFIG. 1 for the sake of convenience). In FIG. 1, UE N is shown asconnecting to the Internet 175 directly (i.e., separate from the corenetwork 140, such as over an Ethernet connection of WiFi or 802.11-basednetwork). The Internet 175 can thereby function to bridgepacket-switched data communications between UE N and UEs 1 . . . N viathe core network 140. Also shown in FIG. 1 is the access point 125 thatis separate from the RAN 120. The access point 125 may be connected tothe Internet 175 independent of the core network 140 (e.g., via anoptical communication system such as FiOS, a cable modem, etc.). The airinterface 108 may serve UE 4 or UE 5 over a local wireless connection,such as IEEE 802.11 in an example. UE N is shown as a desktop computerwith a wired connection to the Internet 175, such as a direct connectionto a modem or router, which can correspond to the access point 125itself in an example (e.g., for a WiFi router with both wired andwireless connectivity).

Referring to FIG. 1, an application server 170 is shown as connected tothe Internet 175, the core network 140, or both. The application server170 can be implemented as a plurality of structurally separate servers,or alternately may correspond to a single server. As will be describedbelow in more detail, the application server 170 is configured tosupport one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-InternetProtocol (VoIP) sessions, Push-to-Talk (PTT) sessions, groupcommunication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UEs thatcan connect to the application server 170 via the core network 140and/or the Internet 175.

FIG. 2 illustrates examples of UEs in accordance with aspects of thedisclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, UE 200A is illustrated as a callingtelephone and UE 200B is illustrated as a touchscreen device (e.g., asmart phone, a tablet computer, etc.). As shown in FIG. 2, an externalcasing of UE 200A is configured with an antenna 205A, display 210A, atleast one button 215A (e.g., a PTT button, a power button, a volumecontrol button, etc.) and a keypad 220A among other components, as isknown in the art. Also, an external casing of UE 200B is configured witha touchscreen display 205B, peripheral buttons 210B, 215B, 220B and 225B(e.g., a power control button, a volume or vibrate control button, anairplane mode toggle button, etc.), at least one front-panel button 230B(e.g., a Home button, etc.), among other components, as is known in theart. While not shown explicitly as part of UE 200B, the UE 200B caninclude one or more external antennas and/or one or more integratedantennas that are built into the external casing of UE 200B, includingbut not limited to WiFi antennas, cellular antennas, satellite positionsystem (SPS) antennas (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) antennas),and so on.

While internal components of UEs such as the UEs 200A and 200B can beembodied with different hardware configurations, a basic high-level UEconfiguration for internal hardware components is shown as platform 202in FIG. 2. The platform 202 can receive and execute softwareapplications, data and/or commands transmitted from the RAN 120 that mayultimately come from the core network 140, the Internet 175 and/or otherremote servers and networks (e.g., application server 170, web URLs,etc.). The platform 202 can also independently execute locally storedapplications without RAN interaction. The platform 202 can include atransceiver 206 operably coupled to an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) 208, or other processor, microprocessor, logic circuit,or other data processing device. The ASIC 208 or other processorexecutes the application programming interface (API) 210 layer thatinterfaces with any resident programs in the memory 212 of the wirelessdevice. The memory 212 can be comprised of read-only memory (ROM) orrandom-access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), flash cards, or any memory common to computer platforms. Theplatform 202 also can include a local database 214 that can storeapplications not actively used in memory 212, as well as other data. Thelocal database 214 is typically a flash memory cell, but can be anysecondary storage device as known in the art, such as magnetic media,EEPROM, optical media, tape, soft or hard disk, or the like.

Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure can include a UE (e.g., UE200A, 200B, etc.) including the ability to perform the functionsdescribed herein. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art,the various logic elements can be embodied in discrete elements,software modules executed on a processor or any combination of softwareand hardware to achieve the functionality disclosed herein. For example,ASIC 208, memory 212, API 210 and local database 214 may all be usedcooperatively to load, store and execute the various functions disclosedherein and thus the logic to perform these functions may be distributedover various elements. Alternatively, the functionality could beincorporated into one discrete component. Therefore, the features of theUEs 200A and 200B in FIG. 2 are to be considered merely illustrative andthe disclosure is not limited to the illustrated features orarrangement.

The wireless communication between the UEs 200A and/or 200B and the RAN120 can be based on different technologies, such as CDMA, W-CDMA, timedivision multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access(FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (01-DM), GSM, orother protocols that may be used in a wireless communications network ora data communications network. As discussed in the foregoing and knownin the art, voice transmission and/or data can be transmitted to the UEsfrom the RAN using a variety of networks and configurations.Accordingly, the illustrations provided herein are not intended to limitthe aspects of the disclosure and are merely to aid in the descriptionof various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a communication device 300 that includes logicconfigured to perform functionality. The communication device 300 cancorrespond to any of the above-noted communication devices, includingbut not limited to UEs 200A or 200B, any component of the RAN 120, anycomponent of the core network 140, any components coupled with the corenetwork 140 and/or the Internet 175 (e.g., the application server 170),and so on. Thus, communication device 300 can correspond to anyelectronic device that is configured to communicate with (or facilitatecommunication with) one or more other entities over the wirelesscommunications system 100 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 includes logicconfigured to receive and/or transmit information 305. In an example, ifthe communication device 300 corresponds to a wireless communicationsdevice (e.g., UE 200A or 200B), the logic configured to receive and/ortransmit information 305 can include a wireless communications interface(e.g., Bluetooth, WiFi, 2G, CDMA, W-CDMA, 3G, 4G, LTE, etc.) such as awireless transceiver and associated hardware (e.g., an RF antenna, aMODEM, a modulator and/or demodulator, etc.). In another example, thelogic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 cancorrespond to a wired communications interface (e.g., a serialconnection, a USB or Firewire connection, an Ethernet connection throughwhich the Internet 175 can be accessed, etc.). Thus, if thecommunication device 300 corresponds to some type of network-basedserver (e.g., the application 170), the logic configured to receiveand/or transmit information 305 can correspond to an Ethernet card, inan example, that connects the network-based server to othercommunication entities via an Ethernet protocol. In a further example,the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 caninclude sensory or measurement hardware by which the communicationdevice 300 can monitor its local environment (e.g., an accelerometer, atemperature sensor, a light sensor, an antenna for monitoring local RFsignals, etc.). The logic configured to receive and/or transmitinformation 305 can also include software that, when executed, permitsthe associated hardware of the logic configured to receive and/ortransmit information 305 to perform its reception and/or transmissionfunction(s). However, the logic configured to receive and/or transmitinformation 305 does not correspond to software alone, and the logicconfigured to receive and/or transmit information 305 relies at least inpart upon hardware to achieve its functionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 further includes logicconfigured to process information 310. In an example, the logicconfigured to process information 310 can include at least a processor.Example implementations of the type of processing that can be performedby the logic configured to process information 310 includes but is notlimited to performing determinations, establishing connections, makingselections between different information options, performing evaluationsrelated to data, interacting with sensors coupled to the communicationdevice 300 to perform measurement operations, converting informationfrom one format to another (e.g., between different protocols such as.wmv to .avi, etc.), and so on. For example, the processor included inthe logic configured to process information 310 can correspond to ageneral purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. The logic configured to process information 310 can alsoinclude software that, when executed, permits the associated hardware ofthe logic configured to process information 310 to perform itsprocessing function(s). However, the logic configured to processinformation 310 does not correspond to software alone, and the logicconfigured to process information 310 relies at least in part uponhardware to achieve its functionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 further includes logicconfigured to store information 315. In an example, the logic configuredto store information 315 can include at least a non-transitory memoryand associated hardware (e.g., a memory controller, etc.). For example,the non-transitory memory included in the logic configured to storeinformation 315 can correspond to RAM, flash memory, ROM, erasableprogrammable ROM (EPROM), EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removabledisk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.The logic configured to store information 315 can also include softwarethat, when executed, permits the associated hardware of the logicconfigured to store information 315 to perform its storage function(s).However, the logic configured to store information 315 does notcorrespond to software alone, and the logic configured to storeinformation 315 relies at least in part upon hardware to achieve itsfunctionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 further optionallyincludes logic configured to present information 320. In an example, thelogic configured to present information 320 can include at least anoutput device and associated hardware. For example, the output devicecan include a video output device (e.g., a display screen, a port thatcan carry video information such as USB, HDMI, etc.), an audio outputdevice (e.g., speakers, a port that can carry audio information such asa microphone jack, USB, HDMI, etc.), a vibration device and/or any otherdevice by which information can be formatted for output or actuallyoutputted by a user or operator of the communication device 300. Forexample, if the communication device 300 corresponds to UE 200A or UE200B as shown in FIG. 2, the logic configured to present information 320can include the display 210A of UE 200A or the touchscreen display 205Bof UE 200B. In a further example, the logic configured to presentinformation 320 can be omitted for certain communication devices, suchas network communication devices that do not have a local user (e.g.,network switches or routers, remote servers, etc.). The logic configuredto present information 320 can also include software that, whenexecuted, permits the associated hardware of the logic configured topresent information 320 to perform its presentation function(s).However, the logic configured to present information 320 does notcorrespond to software alone, and the logic configured to presentinformation 320 relies at least in part upon hardware to achieve itsfunctionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 further optionallyincludes logic configured to receive local user input 325. In anexample, the logic configured to receive local user input 325 caninclude at least a user input device and associated hardware. Forexample, the user input device can include buttons, a touchscreendisplay, a keyboard, a camera, an audio input device (e.g., a microphoneor a port that can carry audio information such as a microphone jack,etc.), and/or any other device by which information can be received froma user or operator of the communication device 300. For example, if thecommunication device 300 corresponds to UE 200A or UE 200B as shown inFIG. 2, the logic configured to receive local user input 325 can includethe keypad 220A, any of the buttons 215A or 210B through 225B, thetouchscreen display 205B, etc. In a further example, the logicconfigured to receive local user input 325 can be omitted for certaincommunication devices, such as network communication devices that do nothave a local user (e.g., network switches or routers, remote servers,etc.). The logic configured to receive local user input 325 can alsoinclude software that, when executed, permits the associated hardware ofthe logic configured to receive local user input 325 to perform itsinput reception function(s). However, the logic configured to receivelocal user input 325 does not correspond to software alone, and thelogic configured to receive local user input 325 relies at least in partupon hardware to achieve its functionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, while the configured logics of 305 through 325 areshown as separate or distinct blocks in FIG. 3, it will be appreciatedthat the hardware and/or software by which the respective configuredlogic performs its functionality can overlap in part. For example, anysoftware used to facilitate the functionality of the configured logicsof 305 through 325 can be stored in the non-transitory memory associatedwith the logic configured to store information 315, such that theconfigured logics of 305 through 325 each performs their functionality(i.e., in this case, software execution) based in part upon theoperation of software stored by the logic configured to storeinformation 315. Likewise, hardware that is directly associated with oneof the configured logics can be borrowed or used by other configuredlogics from time to time. For example, the processor of the logicconfigured to process information 310 can format data into anappropriate format before being transmitted by the logic configured toreceive and/or transmit information 305, such that the logic configuredto receive and/or transmit information 305 performs its functionality(i.e., in this case, transmission of data) based in part upon theoperation of hardware (i.e., the processor) associated with the logicconfigured to process information 310.

Generally, unless stated otherwise explicitly, the phrase “logicconfigured to” as used throughout this disclosure is intended to invokean aspect that is at least partially implemented with hardware, and isnot intended to map to software-only implementations that areindependent of hardware. Also, it will be appreciated that theconfigured logic or “logic configured to” in the various blocks are notlimited to specific logic gates or elements, but generally refer to theability to perform the functionality described herein (either viahardware or a combination of hardware and software). Thus, theconfigured logics or “logic configured to” as illustrated in the variousblocks are not necessarily implemented as logic gates or logic elementsdespite sharing the word “logic.” Other interactions or cooperationbetween the logic in the various blocks will become clear to one ofordinary skill in the art from a review of the aspects described belowin more detail.

The various embodiments may be implemented on any of a variety ofcommercially available server devices, such as server 400 illustrated inFIG. 4. In an example, the server 400 may correspond to one exampleconfiguration of the application server 170 described above. In FIG. 4,the server 400 includes a processor 401 coupled to volatile memory 402and a large capacity nonvolatile memory, such as a disk drive 403. Theserver 400 may also include a floppy disc drive, compact disc (CD) orDVD disc drive 406 coupled to the processor 401. The server 400 may alsoinclude network access ports 404 coupled to the processor 401 forestablishing data connections with a network 407, such as a local areanetwork coupled to other broadcast system computers and servers or tothe Internet. In context with FIG. 3, it will be appreciated that theserver 400 of FIG. 4 illustrates one example implementation of thecommunication device 300, whereby the logic configured to transmitand/or receive information 305 corresponds to the network access points404 used by the server 400 to communicate with the network 407, thelogic configured to process information 310 corresponds to the processor401, and the logic configuration to store information 315 corresponds toany combination of the volatile memory 402, the disk drive 403 and/orthe disc drive 406. The optional logic configured to present information320 and the optional logic configured to receive local user input 325are not shown explicitly in FIG. 4 and may or may not be includedtherein. Thus, FIG. 4 helps to demonstrate that the communication device300 may be implemented as a server, in addition to a UE implementationas in 205A or 205B as in FIG. 2.

Due to the ever increasing amount of data being transmitted over datanetworks, such as 3G and 4G networks, carriers are struggling to meetuser's data needs. This is exacerbated by the quantity of videostreaming done over the network to mobile devices.

Because a video is composed of many frames (still pictures), video filestend to be large. Video compression algorithms, used to reduce the sizeof a video file, typically classify frames as I frames, P frames, and Bframes. An “I” frame (an “intra-coded picture”) is a fully specifiedimage that requires no decoding. A “P” frame (a “predicted picture”)holds only the changes in the image from the previous frame and requiresdecoding in context of the preceding frame. P frames are also referredto as delta frames. A “B” frame can use both previous and forward framesfor data reference to get the highest amount of data compression. FIG. 5illustrates an exemplary video 500 broken down into I frames 502 and Pframes 504.

The size of a video file can be reduced on a server by implementing aform of video degradation that drops certain frames. The dropped framescan be either “I” frames, “P” frames, or “B” frames. The degraded videois sent to a UE, along with metadata describing the degradationperformed. The original video is reproduced on the UE by filling in themissing frames using “morphing.” Morphing is a technique by whichmultiple frames can be regenerated based on key differences between twomore widely spaced frames. This provides several advantages, such asless data being sent over the network, very limited processing on theserver side, and less buffering time on the client side.

Alternatively, frames can be replaced using computer vision for motiontracking. In that case, items in a frame can be tracked and moved in theframe accordingly.

FIG. 6 illustrates high-level system architecture of a wirelesscommunications system in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. Aserver, such as application server 170, includes a video processor 602,a data analyzer 604, and a frame dropper 606. A UE 610 includes a videoprocessor 612, a frame morpher 614, and a frame adder 616. The UE 610 isillustrated as a smart phone, however, UE 610 may be any user equipment,including, but not limited to, a basic cell phone, a PDA, a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or the like.

The UE 610 sends a request 620 for a video to the application server170. If the video is not stored on the application server 170, theapplication server 170 sends a request 630 for the video over theInternet 175, or other similar network, to the remote server storing thevideo. The remote server (not shown) sends a response 632 including thevideo to the application server 170. The video file may be compressedinto I and P frames by the remote server or the application server 170.The application server 170 processes the received video using the videoprocessor 602, the data analyzer 604, and the frame dropper 606, asdescribed below. The application server 170 sends a response 622including the processed video to the UE 610. The UE 610 processes thereceived video using the video processor 612, the frame morpher 614, andthe frame adder 616, as described below.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary signaling diagram for processing a videofile in the wireless communications system 600 illustrated in FIG. 6. Inaddition to the components illustrated in FIG. 6, the application server170 and the UE 610 each include a network communicator 702 and 704,respectively. The network communicators 702 and 704 providecommunication interfaces that permit the application server 170 and theUE 610 to communicate with other devices on the network.

At 710, the UE 610 sends a request to the application server 170 to geta video. At 720, the application server 170 sends a notification to theUE 610 that it supports frame dropping. At 730, the UE 610 sends a “yes”or “no” response, indicating whether or not it supports the framerecreation. At 740, if the UE 610 does not support frame recreation,then the application server 170 sends the original video file. If,however, the UE 610 does support frame recreation, then at 750, theframe dropper 606 drops frames that can be recreated at the UE 610. At760, the application server 170 sends the video, minus the droppedframes, to the UE 610. At 770, the UE 610 receives the video and passesit to the video processor 612. At 780, the frame adder 616 detects thedropped frames, recreates the dropped frames, and adds the recreatedframes back into the received video file to recreate the original videofile.

Although the signaling diagram of FIG. 7 is illustrated as beingperformed by the application server 170 and the UE 610, it may beperformed by any server and client devices. As such, a server device mayinclude a UE transmitting a video to another device, and the clientdevice may include a server receiving a processed video from anotherdevice.

FIG. 8 illustrates a more detailed flow of the features performed at aclient device, such as UE 610. At 805, the client, via a networkcommunicator 802, such as network communicator 704, requests a videofrom a server, such as application server 170. At 810, the clientreceives a notification from the server that the server supports framedropping. At 815, the client determines whether or not it too supportsrecreating dropped frames. If it does not, then at 820, the client sendsa “no” response to the server. At 825, the client receives the original,or un-processed, video. At 830, the client processes and displays thevideo normally.

If, however, at 815, the client determines that it does supportrecreating dropped frames, then at 835, the client sends a “yes”response to the server. At 840, the client receives the video from theserver with certain frames dropped.

At 845, the client, via a video processor 804, such as video processor612, processes the headers and stores information about which framesneed to be added back into the video file. At 850, the client receives apacket of video data and builds a frame. At 855, the client determineswhether or not the frame is the beginning of a dropped sequence offrames. This may be indicated in metadata received with the video filethat identifies or describes the dropped frames. If the frame is thebeginning of a sequence, then at 860, the client, via a frame adder 806,such as frame adder 616, stores the frame as the beginning of a droppedframe sequence.

If, however, the client determines that the frame is not the beginningof a dropped frame sequence, then at 865, the client determines whetheror not the frame is the first frame after a dropped sequence. If it isnot, then the flow returns to 850. If it is, then at 870, the client,via the frame adder 806, stores the frame as the end of a dropped framesequence. At 875, the frame adder 806 recreates the missing frames usingthe frame at the beginning of the dropped frame sequence stored at 860and the first frame after the dropped frame sequence stored at 870. Theframe adder 806 recreates the frames by morphing the frame at thebeginning of the dropped frame sequence into the first frame after thedropped frame sequence. At 880, the frame adder 806 returns the createdframes to the video processor 804.

FIG. 9 illustrates a series of full groups of frames 910-950. In theexample of FIG. 9, each group of frames 910-950 includes an I framefollowed by a series of 11 P frames. The I frame at the beginning ofeach group of frames 910-950 can be treated as the last frame of theprevious group of frames.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of skipping and morphing five P frames ata time. For a sequence of frames 1010 comprising an I frame 1022followed by 11 P frames and another I frame 1026, a server, such asapplication server 170, can skip every five P frames and convert thesixth P frame 1020 into an I frame 1024. The server then transmits onlyI frames 1022, 1024, and 1026 over the network. The two groups of fivedropped frames represent the data savings of this algorithm That is,instead of transmitting 13 frames, the server only transmits threeframes.

The client receives the I frames 1022, 1024, and 1026 and uses them torecreate the 10 dropped P frames. The client creates the first group offive dropped P frames by morphing the I frame 1022 into the I frame1024. The client creates the second group of five dropped P frames bymorphing the I frame 1024 into the I frame 1026. The resulting sequenceof frames 1030 is now a 13-frame sequence, just as the original sequenceof frames 1010 was a 13-frame sequence.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of skipping and morphing 11 P frames at atime. For a sequence of frames 1110 comprising an I frame 1122 followedby 11 P frames and another I frame 1124, a server, such as applicationserver 170, can skip every 11 P frames. The server then transmits only Iframes 1122 and 1124 over the network. The 11 dropped frames representthe data savings of this algorithm That is, instead of transmitting 13frames, the server only transmits two frames.

The client receives the I frames 1122 and 1124 and uses them to recreatethe 11 dropped P frames. The client creates the 11 dropped P frames bymorphing the I frame 1122 into the I frame 1124. The resulting sequenceof frames 1130 is now a 13 frame sequence, the same as the originalsequence of frames 1110.

Table 1 illustrates an example of the frames the client could add basedon the number of frames the server drops.

TABLE 1 Server Video Processor Client Video Processor Frame Sequences toDrop Morph in the Missing Frames A partial set of P frames The samenumber of frames skipped One complete set of P frames Twice the numberof frames skipped A complete P-I-P sequence Three times the number offrames skipped

Table 2 illustrates an example of the frames the client could add basedon the number of frames the server drops.

TABLE 2 Client Video Processor Server Video Processor Morph in a Numberof Frames Frame Sequences to Drop Same 2x 3x A partial set of P frames:5 5 10 15 One complete set of P frames: 11 11 22 33 A complete P-I-Psequence: 23 23 46 69

The following is a specific example of the frame dropping algorithm forthe MP4 video format. FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary MP4 filehierarchy 1200. MP4 files are composed of atoms. Each atom contains datanecessary to decode the video. The “mdat” atom 1202 contains the actualvideo data (frames). The “stbl” atom 1208 contains various headersnecessary for the decoding. The “stts” header 1212 includes the numberof samples, the “stss” 1214 header includes the I frames identified bytheir number in the sequence, the “stsc” header 1216 includes the numberof samples in each chunk, the “stsz” header 1218 includes the size ofeach frame, and the “stco” header 1220 includes number of chunks andtheir offsets.

The server can drop frames in an MP4 video file by retrieving the mdatatom 1202, looping through it frame by frame, deleting P frames, andupdating the stts, stss, stsc, stsz, and stco headers 1212-1220. Theserver can identify P frames by identifying I frames from the stssheader 1214. That is, the server knows which frames are I frames fromthe stss header 1214, meaning that any frame not listed in the stssheader 1214 is a P frame, or at least is not an I frame.

On the client side, a modified data atom under the moov atom 1204contains a flag indicating whether or not the video stream has beenedited, and thus needs to be morphed, and a secondary field indicatingthe new size of the mdat atom 1202. For each trak 1206, the meta atom1222 indicates the remaining frames, identified by their frame number.This information can also be used to determine the number of frames tomorph in between the frames that were kept. Also for each trak 1206, anew stco header 1220 includes an offset table for the data if it hasbeen edited to be morphed.

Alternatively, the headers might contain special fields dedicated to theoption of dropping and morphing headers. In this case, each of theindividual headers would not need to be edited; only the flag indicatingwhether or not the frames had been dropped would need to be edited. Ifany frames have been dropped, the flag is set and the client can referto the dedicated headers in order to know how to put the video backtogether.

The following is a list of dedicated headers that might be added—adedicated mdat field, with the size of the data that remains, as well asdedicated stts, stss, stsc, stsz, and stco headers. Another added headermight be the number of frames to morph in between the frames that werekept.

To put the video back together, the client checks whether or not theflag is set. For the video data, the client reads the framessequentially using the morphed stco header 1220 or the dedicatedheader(s). The client finds the first frame and reads the frame sizecount bytes, using the size from the atom header or the size table. Theclient then reads until the next frame. The client reads in the nextframe's size count bytes, using the size from the atom header or thesize table, as with the previous frame. The client then determines if itneeds to morph in missing frames based on the meta atom 1222 or the newstco header 1220 that includes the offsets table. If the clientdetermines that it needs to morph in missing frames, then it morphs inthe number of missing frames. If, however, the client determines that itdoes not need to morph in missing frames, then it plays the framenormally. The client then repeats the process until the final frame.

To deal with the video's audio, the audio for a sequence of frames, suchas frame sequences 910-950, can be considered as part of the firstframe. The audio can then be played at a slower rate than the frame isplayed. This would use a new table indicating the size of each frame asthe sum of the first frame plus the audio of all dropped frames.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary flow for processing a video file at aserver, such as the application server 170 illustrated in FIG. 6. At1310, the server receives a request for a video from a client, such asUE 610. The video may be stored at the server or a remote server. At1320, the server retrieves the video and sends it to a video processor,such as the video processor 602 illustrated in FIG. 6. At 1330, a dataanalyzer, such as the data analyzer 604 illustrated in FIG. 6, analyzesthe video to determine which and/or how many frames can optimally bedropped from the video. At 1340, a frame dropper, such as the framedropper 606 illustrated in FIG. 6, drops the frames the data analyzerdetermined to be non-essential. At 1350, the server transmits theremaining frames to the client, along with metadata describing theframes that have been dropped. The server may stream the video file tothe client or send it as a discrete download.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary flow for creating a new version of anoriginal stream of encoded video frames from a reduced stream of encodedvideo frames. The flow may be performed at a client, such as UE 610. At1410, the client receives the reduced stream of encoded video frames.The reduced stream of encoded video frames may have been created byremoving a plurality of frames from the original stream of encoded videoframes at a server, such as the application server 170. At 1420, theclient identifies the plurality of removed frames based on metadatarelated to the reduced stream of encoded video frames. At 1430, theclient generates a plurality of replacement frames based on theidentified plurality of removed frames. At 1440, the client adds theplurality of replacement frames to the reduced stream of encoded videoframes to recreate the new version of the original stream of encodedvideo frames. At 1450, the client plays the new version of the originalvideo stream.

While the aspects above have been described primarily with reference to1× EV-DO architecture in CDMA2000 networks, GPRS architecture in W-CDMAor UMTS networks and/or EPS architecture in LTE-based networks, it willbe appreciated that other aspects can be directed to other types ofnetwork architectures and/or protocols.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection withthe aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form ofstorage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupledto the processor such that the processor can read information from, andwrite information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, thestorage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and thestorage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a userterminal (e.g., UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storagemedium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed bya computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of thedisclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosureas defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actionsof the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosuredescribed herein need not be performed in any particular order.Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described orclaimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation tothe singular is explicitly stated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of transmitting a reduced stream ofencoded video frames, comprising: analyzing an original stream ofencoded video frames, wherein the original stream of encoded videoframes comprises at least one sequence of a first intra-coded (I) frame,a plurality of predicted (P) frames, and a second I frame; removing aplurality of frames from the original stream of encoded video frameswithout re-encoding encoded video frames to generate the reduced streamof encoded video frames, wherein the reduced stream of encoded videoframes includes at least one P frame of the plurality of P framesconverted to a third I frame, and wherein the plurality of framesremoved from the original stream of encoded video frames comprises all Pframes of the plurality of P frames between the first I frame and thesecond I frame other than the at least one P frame; and transmitting thereduced stream of encoded video frames and metadata describing theplurality of removed frames to a receiving user device, wherein themetadata describing the plurality of removed frames is configured toenable the receiving user device to identify the plurality of removedframes, generate a plurality of replacement frames based on theidentified plurality of removed frames, and add the plurality ofreplacement frames to the reduced stream of encoded video frames torecreate a new version of the original stream of encoded video frames,wherein the receiving user device being enabled to generate theplurality of replacement frames comprises the receiving user devicebeing enabled to morph the first I frame of the reduced stream ofencoded video frames into the second I frame of the reduced stream ofencoded video frames and morph the second I frame of the reduced streamof encoded video frames into the third I frame of the reduced stream ofencoded video frames to generate the plurality of replacement frames,and wherein the plurality of replacement frames correspond to all Pframes of the plurality of P frames between the first I frame and thethird I frame other than the at least one P frame of the plurality of Pframes converted to the second I frame.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a request for the original stream ofencoded video frames from the receiving user device.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the analyzing comprises: analyzing headers of theoriginal stream of encoded video frames to identify a type of a videoframe.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the type of the video frame isidentified by a size of the video frame or an identifier in a header ofthe video frame.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the type of the videoframe is an I frame, a P frame, or a B frame.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining a number of frames to remove from theoriginal stream of encoded video frames.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the plurality of P frames comprises a plurality of intermediateframes and the first I frame comprises a key frame.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the key frame does not require decoding and theplurality of intermediate frames require the key frame in order to bedecoded.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the receiving user devicerecreates the original stream of encoded video frames by adding framesto the reduced stream of encoded video frames.
 10. The method of claim9, wherein the added frames are the plurality of intermediate frames.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the added frames are generated bymorphing the first I frame into the third I frame and the third I frameinto the second I frame.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein a number ofthe added frames matches a number of the plurality of removed frames.13. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata comprises a flagindicating that the original stream of encoded video frames has beenedited, identifiers of the reduced stream of encoded video frames, anumber of the plurality of removed frames, and/or identifiers of theplurality of removed frames.
 14. An apparatus for transmitting a reducedstream of encoded video frames, comprising: at least one processorconfigured to: analyze an original stream of encoded video frames,wherein the original stream of encoded video frames comprises at leastone sequence of a first intra-coded (I) frame, a plurality of predicted(P) frames, and a second I frame; and remove a plurality of frames fromthe original stream of encoded video frames without re-encoding encodedvideo frames to generate the reduced stream of encoded video frames,wherein the reduced stream of encoded video frames includes at least oneP frame of the plurality of P frames converted to a third I frame, andwherein the plurality of frames removed from the original stream ofencoded video frames comprises all P frames of the plurality of P framesbetween the first I frame and the second I frame other than the at leastone P frame; and at least one transmitter configured to transmit thereduced stream of encoded video frames and metadata describing theplurality of removed frames to a receiving user device, wherein themetadata describing the plurality of removed frames is configured toenable the receiving user device to identify the plurality of removedframes, generate a plurality of replacement frames based on theidentified plurality of removed frames, and add the plurality ofreplacement frames to the reduced stream of encoded video frames torecreate a new version of the original stream of encoded video frames,wherein the receiving user device being enabled to generate theplurality of replacement frames comprises the receiving user devicebeing enabled to morph the first I frame of the reduced stream ofencoded video frames into the second I frame of the reduced stream ofencoded video frames and morph the second I frame of the reduced streamof encoded video frames into the third I frame of the reduced stream ofencoded video frames to generate the plurality of replacement frames,and wherein the plurality of replacement frames correspond to all Pframes of the plurality of P frames between the first I frame and thethird I frame other than the at least one P frame of the plurality of Pframes converted to the second I frame.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14,further comprising: at least one receiver configured to receive arequest for the original stream of encoded video frames from thereceiving user device.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to determine a number offrames to remove from the original stream of encoded video frames. 17.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of P frames comprises aplurality of intermediate frames and the first I frame comprises a keyframe.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the key frame does notrequire decoding and the plurality of intermediate frames require thekey frame in order to be decoded.
 19. The apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe metadata comprises a flag indicating that the original stream ofencoded video frames has been edited, identifiers of the reduced streamof encoded video frames, a number of the plurality of removed frames,and/or identifiers of the plurality of removed frames.
 20. An apparatusfor transmitting a reduced stream of encoded video frames, comprising:means for analyzing an original stream of encoded video frames, whereinthe original stream of encoded video frames comprises at least onesequence of a first intra-coded (I) frame, a plurality of predicted (P)frames, and a second I frame; means for removing a plurality of framesfrom the original stream of encoded video frames without re-encodingencoded video frames to generate the reduced stream of encoded videoframes, wherein the reduced stream of encoded video frames includes atleast one P frame of the plurality of P frames converted to a third Iframe, and wherein the plurality of frames removed from the originalstream of encoded video frames comprises all P frames of the pluralityof P frames between the first I frame and the second I frame other thanthe at least one P frame; and means for transmitting the reduced streamof encoded video frames and metadata describing the plurality of removedframes to a receiving user device, wherein the metadata describing theplurality of removed frames is configured to enable the receiving userdevice to identify the plurality of removed frames, generate a pluralityof replacement frames based on the identified plurality of removedframes, and add the plurality of replacement frames to the reducedstream of encoded video frames to recreate a new version of the originalstream of encoded video frames, wherein the receiving user device beingenabled to generate the plurality of replacement frames comprises thereceiving user device being enabled to morph the first I frame of thereduced stream of encoded video frames into the second I frame of thereduced stream of encoded video frames and morph the second I frame ofthe reduced stream of encoded video frames into the third I frame of thereduced stream of encoded video frames to generate the plurality ofreplacement frames, and wherein the plurality of replacement framescorrespond to all P frames of the plurality of P frames between thefirst I frame and the third I frame other than the at least one P frameof the plurality of P frames converted to the second I frame.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, further comprising: means for receiving a requestfor the original stream of encoded video frames from the receiving userdevice.
 22. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising: means fordetermining a number of frames to remove from the original stream ofencoded video frames.
 23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein theplurality of P frames comprises a plurality of intermediate frames andthe first I frame comprises a key frame.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23,wherein the key frame does not require decoding and the plurality ofintermediate frames require the key frame in order to be decoded. 25.The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the metadata comprises a flagindicating that the original stream of encoded video frames has beenedited, identifiers of the reduced stream of encoded video frames, anumber of the plurality of removed frames, and/or identifiers of theplurality of removed frames.
 26. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium for transmitting a reduced stream of encoded video frames,comprising: at least one instruction to analyze an original stream ofencoded video frames, wherein the original stream of encoded videoframes comprises at least one sequence of a first intra-coded (I) frame,a plurality of predicted (P) frames, and a second I frame; at least oneinstruction to remove a plurality of frames from the original stream ofencoded video frames without re-encoding encoded video frames togenerate the reduced stream of encoded video frames, wherein the reducedstream of encoded video frames includes at least one P frame of theplurality of P frames converted to a third I frame, and wherein theplurality of frames removed from the original stream of encoded videoframes comprises all P frames of the plurality of P frames between thefirst I frame and the second I frame other than the at least one Pframe; and at least one instruction to transmit the reduced stream ofencoded video frames and metadata describing the plurality of removedframes to a receiving user device, wherein the metadata describing theplurality of removed frames is configured to enable the receiving userdevice to identify the plurality of removed frames, generate a pluralityof replacement frames based on the identified plurality of removedframes, and add the plurality of replacement frames to the reducedstream of encoded video frames to recreate a new version of the originalstream of encoded video frames, wherein the receiving user device beingenabled to generate the plurality of replacement frames comprises thereceiving user device being enabled to morph the first I frame of thereduced stream of encoded video frames into the second I frame of thereduced stream of encoded video frames and morph the second I frame ofthe reduced stream of encoded video frames into the third I frame of thereduced stream of encoded video frames to generate the plurality ofreplacement frames, and wherein the plurality of replacement framescorrespond to all P frames of the plurality of P frames between thefirst I frame and the third I frame other than the at least one P frameof the plurality of P frames converted to the second I frame.
 27. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, further comprising:at least one instruction to receive a request for the original stream ofencoded video frames from the receiving user device.
 28. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, further comprising:at least one instruction to determine a number of frames to remove fromthe original stream of encoded video frames.
 29. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the plurality of P framescomprises a plurality of intermediate frames and the first I framecomprises a key frame.
 30. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 26, wherein the metadata comprises a flag indicating that theoriginal stream of encoded video frames has been edited, identifiers ofthe reduced stream of encoded video frames, a number of the plurality ofremoved frames, and/or identifiers of the plurality of removed frames.